The Joy Luck Club Chapters 2-4 Discussion Questions Directions: You and your group will be responsible for presenting information about your character/chapter to the class. The questions below are meant to be a starting point for your discussion, but discuss your character, going beyond mere answers to the questions. Then summarize your conclusions about your section. Your classmates will be able to ask questions or share comments after your presentation. Group 1 – An-mei Hsu: Scar (Beginning – “And then I remembered”) 1. An-mei calls her mother a “ghost.” What does this reveal about her mother? She was not spoken about, she is called a “thoughtless woman”, “faceless”, and “unhonorable” 2. Describe An-mei’s childhood home. She grew up in a large compound located in a rural area of China. An-mei’s mother’s family was wealthy and influential. Beautiful decorations and furnishings. Large, Cold, and Quiet. A painting of her father (told he was always watching An-mei) 3. In what ways did Popo declare her love for the children and why is this ironic? Popo would say unpleasant things about An-mei, so that the ghosts would not take her awaythis 4. How could one describe the way in which her mother’s family raised An-mei? An-mei was raised in a strict household, with obedience and respect towards one’s elders. An-mei had her grandmother and her aunt. Popo was the matriarch of the family. An-mei’s mother was Group 2 – An-mei Hsu: Scar (“I was four years old.” – end) 1. How does An-mei get her scar? An-mei’s mother returns, and An-mei walks towards her In the commotion, a large pot of hot soup gets pushed over and spills across An-mei 2. In what ways does Popo help An-mei heal after the scalding soup scars her? Washes neck with cold water Soothes pain Removes scar Removed memory of mother 3. Why does An-mei’s mother return? Tries to reconnect with An-mei after 4. An-mei witnesses her mother slicing her arm and putting it in a healing soup. What does this signify about the nature of a mother-daughter relationship? A daughter would do anything to try to save her mother A bond that is very strong No matter if the relationship is sour, will not be broken Group 3 – Lindo Jong: The Red Candle (Beginning – “The Japnese were in every corner”) 1. In what way is a female baby valuable in China? Female’s babies are valuable in China only because they are seen as candidates for marriage. 2. How and why does Lindo’s relationship with her mother change? Love is developed, and Lindo was willing to sacrifice her life to be in an unhappy marriage. Mother gave he a prize jade pendant. As Lindo matures, she appreciated her mother more. 3. What characteristics of Lindo’s future husband make him undesirable for her? Arrogant, cruel to Lindo. Tyan Yu father was sick, Spoiled brat 4. What details from the story suggest that Lindo has no control over her destiny? Matchmaker set Lindo up with Tyan Yu House got flooded Moved to new shanghai Group 4 – Lindo Jong: The Red Candle (“The Japanese showed up”–end) 1. In what ways is Lindo like the wind? As Lindo looks at herself in the mirror with a red dress on, she realized that “[she] was strong, [she] was pure, [and she] had thought no one could see, that no one could ever take away from [her]. After she realizes these things she says “I was like the wind.” (Tan 53). She is like the wind in the sense that she wants to be her own self, of course still respecting her parents’ wishes, but being truer to herself and showing the power, like the wind, that she can still have “powerful” opinions about herself and show that she is capable of knowing her self-worth, however, to not disappoint her parents she must keep them concealed. Lindo realizes how valuable she is and then conceals it with her scarf. She gains the ability to listen to her own heart while hiding it behind the scarf and to remain strong and not lose hope. In terms of the wind, the wind is strong and powerful but it is invisible similar to Lindo as she is becoming more aware and “powerful” in that she is understanding and values her self-worth more, however, she must keep it hidden “invisible” and hide the behind her scarf. She knew that even in an arranged marriage, it could not completely diminish her as she still remained true to her pride for herself. 2. How does the red candle relate to Lindo’s feelings about her life? Lindo sees the red candle as a symbol of her arranged marriage to Tyan-yu, but to her, it also signifies how she has no say in what happens to her life. Everything is predetermined for her, and she feels powerless to change anything, as she would end up disappointing and breaking her promise to her parents of being a good wife if she wanted to be true to herself and show her self-worth to Tyan-yu, that would end up breaking the promise because she would probably not treat him with respect or dignity, or probably leave him after or talk back to him. From the way he treated her, it’s not easy for her to be a good wife, Tyan-yu tells Lindo, “This is my bed. You sleep on the sofa.” (Tan 55). From that, the start of their marriage already seems like Tyan-yu has not love for Lindo, and Lindo has no choice but to stay in this unhappy marriage forced upon her. 3. Detail the trick Lindo plays to escape her unhappy marriage. Lindo played the trick on the third day of the third month, also known as the Festival of Pure Brightness, where people are supposed to think about their ancestors. She acted as though she was in grief and pain to convince Huang Taitai of her story. She told her mother-in-law she had a dream where her ancestors had came to her, wanting to attend her wedding, so Tyan-yu and Lindo held the ceremony again. However, this time, the Tyan-yu's side of the candle was blown out by the wind, angering the ancestors. The ancestors said that Tyan-yu was going to pass away if they stayed married. Huang Taitai brushes off Lindo's dream, but Lindo continues, convincing Huang Taitai that the marriage is beneficial to her, "They knew you would not believe me...because they know I do not want to leave the comforts of my marriage" (Tan 61). She said that the ancestor had planted signs to display how their marriage was doomed. Curious about the signs, Huang Taitai asked Lindo what they were. The three signs were a mole on Tyan-yu's back, Lindo's teeth falling out, and a seed that was planted into a servant girl's womb. Lindo claimed that Tyan-yu's grandfather had planted the signs, convincing Huang Taitai by describing what he looked like instead of saying his name. Lindo had figured out what his grandfather had looked like because she saw a painting of him on the wall. Lindo said that the mole that was planted on Tyan-yu's back would grow in size until it consumed his flesh like it ate away the face of their ancestor before he passed away. Huang Taitai was devastated to see that there was a mole the size of a fingertip on Tyan-yu's back when she checked. Lindo had known of this mole for, "these past five months of sleeping as sister and brother" (Tan 60). She also said that her teeth would fall out one by one, which scared Huang Taitai after she saw the hole in the back of Lindo's mouth. That tooth had actually fell out a few years ago. The third was a seed planted into the womb of a servant girl, who Lindo said was Tyan-yu's true spiritual wife. She said that the seed planted will grow to become Tyan-yu's child. By watching the servant girl from her window everyday, Lindo had observed that she was pregnant and how she showed a sense of worry as her stomach became rounder. Lindo made up a lie that the servant girl was also of imperial blood. When Huang Taitai found the servant girl, the servant girl went with the lie because it was beneficial to her. Huang Taitai was fully convinced, and Lindo became free from her unhappy marriage. 4. What is the significant difference Lindo sees between American ways and Chinese ways? Lindo does not understand the Chinese way of life as Lindo thinks that the American and Chinese ways cannot combine as the American ways do not focus on ideals and morals as in comparison to the Chinese ways. Lindo has vital consideration about her Chinese moral values as it is reminiscent of her mother's values in lessons in her youth. The Chinese ways and American ways are both extremely different as they are two polar opposites. The Chinese ways focus on respecting the elders and Chinese principles of life such as being humble and obedient. The American ways do not focus on such principles as it is loosely governed with extreme liberty and freedom as in comparison to the Chinese ways. Group 5 – Ying-ying St. Clair: The Moon Lady (Beginning – “The quiet as everyone slept”) 1. Retell the story of the Moon Lady. 2. What mood is set by the first four paragraphs of this chapter? Ruins clothes, jumps into riksha with mom in it Ran a race with her sisters in it Covered her clothes with figsh gills, featehrs, mud and turtle blood, Clothes got drenched Covered in leaves from bushes Go on stage and talk to male actor fo the moon lady, and instead of waitig for her family to pick her up and find her 3. How did Ying-ying fight the expectations for her life? 4. What is the implication of Ying-ying’s referring to her sisters as Number Two and Number Three? Show the lower class in the family and serve no importance in her life. Group 6 – Ying-ying St. Clair: The Moon Lady (“I sat up and saw Amah” – end) 1. Based on the details provided in the chapter, what is the nature of Ying-ying’s relationship with Amah? Amah is the caregiver, and takes care of ying ying and looks over her and their relationship, affectionate actions 2. How does Ying-ying get into trouble at the lake outing? Dirtied clothes, and getting lost Stands to close, gets covered in fish blood and turtle blood and strips her of her clothes (amah takes yying yinng clothes), and scolds her Gets saved from drowning by a fisherman 3. What does the Moon Lady’s story indicate about women in Chinese society? Seen as sselfish and expected ot submit to husbands and are conservative, women in china are often not see. 4. What does this quotation imply about life and human nature? “But now I am old, moving every year closer to the end of my life, I also feel closer to the beginning. And I remember everything that happened that day because it has happened many times in my life. The same innocence, trust, restlessness, the wonder, fear, and loneliness. How I lost myself.”
